finger sandwich

Finger sandwiches are small sandwiches often served at tea parties or as appetizers/cocktail snacks. They are very rarely found served at a sit-down dinner or any event that includes a meal soon after snacks, but these show up very commonly on buffets and sidebars or tables at parties where the main goal is socializing with a glass and a plate full of munchies. They get their name for two reasons, one because they are cut into small "fingerlike" strips an inch or two wide and four or five long, and because they're "finger" food. (Unlike most sandwiches which are eaten with an entire hand or two, these are small enough to pick up between a thumb and finger and nibble on daintily.)

These are almost always made of white bread (more visually pleasing) and posess an assortment of odd fillings, usually pimento cheese paste, chicken salad (tuna salad smells too strong}, egg salad, unidentifiable meat or veggie paste, or cucumber slivers. Traditional deli meats are occasionally found but uncommon, as is peanut butter and/or jelly (The latter almost always at a party where children will be present.) The crusts are removed almost without fail. And as previously stated, they are almost always cut into long thin strips although occasionally they are cut into small triangles with sides maybe three or four inches long. Oddly enough, it's almost always the pimento cheese paste sandwiches that are cut this way, whereas cucumber are always finger shaped. The other fillings occour in either one. Very very rarely they are cut into "cute" shapes like circles or flowers to make them more interesting/sophisticated to look at.